Researcher Kevin Moerman from the University of Galway has led a workshop on open-source computational tools for modelling in biomedical engineering in the lead up to the International Symposium on Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering.

The specific topics included image-based modelling, geometry visualization, Computer Aided Design (CAD) tools, surface and volume meshing tools, lattice structures, and finite element analysis.

The workshop drew participants from across Europe with a range of computational backgrounds. Several attendees had spent years on finite element analysis for orthopaedic and cardiovascular research, while others had crossed over from industries where the same core techniques serve very different ends. Mesh generation and real-time 3D rendering, for instance, underpin structural load simulations in aerospace, physics engines in casino apps and mobile games, and parametric modelling in architecture. That breadth of experience fed productive discussions between sessions about solver optimization and code portability, and reinforced the case for keeping these tools open-source.

The topics delivered are directly related to the techniques that the team at NUIG is using/developing as part of the BIOMET4D project, among others.

The University of Galway is one member of the BIOMET4D consortium which also includes the Technical University of Madrid, the University Hospital Cologne, Aerosint, Meotec GmbH, the Health Research Institute of Gregorio Marañon Hopsital and project coordinators IMDEA Materials Institute.